As a kid, I shared a bedroom with three siblings. The other three wanted the hall light turned off at night, I wanted it kept on because I was afraid of the dark. The solution was for me to lie awake every night until the other three fell asleep, then go turn the stinkin’ thing on. I was that afraid of the dark. In fact, I slept with a light on well into adulthood. I used to say I had a wonderful imagination for terrible things. Growing up, we didn’t have a TV until I was well into school age, and then the rule was no TV on school nights. This was a good thing on general principles, most especially because “Lost In Space” and “Dark Shadows” kept me sufficiently terrified. There is no telling what I would have done with “Twilight Zone” re-runs or late night helpings of “Creature Feature Theatre.” I knew I shouldn’t watch those shows, but again, one TV, six siblings, and most of them older than me… So I spent a lot of nights being afraid of the tree branch shadows on the bedroom curtains. They looked like dinosaurs and demons… I was afraid of…

Jack Reacher #15 October 2010 On Sale: October 19, 2010 400 pages ISBN: 0385344317 EAN: 9780385344319 Hardcover $28.00 Add to Wish List Thriller, Suspense Spy Buy at Amazon.com Worth Dying For by Lee Child “Jack Reacher is the coolest continuing series character now on offer.”—Stephen King, in Entertainment Weekly #1 New York Times bestselling author Lee Child follows the electrifying 61 Hours with his latest Reacher thriller—a story that hits the ground running and then accelerates all the way to a colossal showdown. There’s deadly trouble in the corn country of Nebraska . . . and Jack Reacher walks right into it. First he falls foul of the Duncans, a local clan that has terrified an entire county into submission. But it’s the unsolved case of a missing child, already decades-old, that Reacher can’t let go. The Duncans want Reacher gone—and it’s not just past secrets they’re trying to hide. They’re awaiting a secret shipment that’s already late—and they have the kind of customers no one can afford to annoy. For as dangerous as the Duncans are, they’re just the bottom of a criminal food chain stretching halfway around the world. For Reacher, it would have made much more sense…

When writing a series, fresh is definitely the name of the game! WOLF FEVER has just been released so for the blog tour, that’s my focus. But at the same time, HEART OF THE HIGHLAND WOLF is up on Amazon for pre-orders (book 7) and I’m waiting approval for DREAMING OF THE WOLF (book 8), plus I’m working on book 9 right now, THE WOLF AND THE SEAL. While I’m writing all these books, I continually think about how each can be a really different story so that readers hopefully won’t be shaking their heads and saying: same story, changed character names, but nothing new and different. As an author of a series, we have to really strive to make each of them unique. In the making of WOLF FEVER, I wanted to write Carol’s story since so many fans loved her in DESTINY OF THE WOLF and asked to see more of her. She’s strong and courageous and sensitive—trying to save others at risk to herself. And smart and determined, too, as a nurse who won’t back down to anyone. She’s caught the eye of a gray wolf leader, Chester Ryan McKinley, from another Colorado town. Now he says…

October 2010 On Sale: September 28, 2010 Featuring: David Baskin; Laura Ayers 560 pages ISBN: 0451231740 EAN: 9780451231741 Paperback (reprint) $9.99 Add to Wish List Suspense, Thriller Buy at Amazon.com Play Dead by Harlan Coben New edition of first ever novel published by the author. No sooner had supermodel Laura Ayers and Celtics star David Baskin said “I do” than tragedy struck. While honeymooning on Australia’s Great Barrier Reed, David went out for a swim-and never returned. Now widowed and grieving, Laura’s search for the truth will draw her into a web of lies and deception that stretches back thirty years… Previous Picks

LIKE CLOCKWORK, a novel containing murder, mayhem, espionage, inventions, romance and steam. The term steampunk is a wide umbrella these days that encompasses many types of stories. Some lean more toward the paranormal, others toward alternate history with gadgetry. The elements that seem to be essential to classifying a story as steampunk are a sense of Victorian style, make-believe inventions based on steam power and intricate gadgets with a lot of moving pieces. At least that’s my interpretation. There are plenty of articles out there which are more in depth about what defines steampunk. When I decided to try to tackle the genre, I wanted to focus on how an amazing new invention could wreak havoc on society by eliminating jobs and causing an even greater schism between the classes. I came up with the idea of mechanical clockwork people taking the place of the laboring class. One of my favorite romance themes is a couple overcoming social barriers. The idea of a radical extremist kidnapping a scientist to draw attention to his cause was born. In order for this romance, which begins with a kidnapping, to be believable I knew Victoria Waters would have to be a very special…

“We’re working on a murder together…” Lady on a Train, 1945 I’m not sure why but, for me, romance and murder go hand-in-hand. That’s probably the result of a youth misspent watching a lot of black and white movies. You know the kind of thing. Lots of snappy dialog and meaningful looks, great clothes, wonderful old cars, and a certain freewheeling attitude where the law was concerned. In fact, sometimes the line between the good guys and the bad was fascinatingly narrow. Anyway, very few of those vintage mystery films were without some kind of romance — even if it ended very badly indeed. Not that romance isn’t exciting all on its own, but it does certainly up the ante if you’re running for your life or accused of a crime you didn’t commit or faced with the most perplexing puzzle of your life. It’s not that most romance novels just don’t have enough plot for me — well, maybe that is what I’m saying. I know that’s not true, because I’ve read plenty of romances that are stuffed with plot and conflict, both internal and external. Maybe it’s because I personally have trouble of thinking of a plot that…

The Christmas season is one of my favorite times of the year, so I was thrilled when Harlequin Intrigue published my latest book, THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS. Of course, as an Intrigue, THE SPY WHO SAVED CHRISTMAS puts a very different spin on the season. More gunfire than mistletoe, more car chases than sleigh rides. No matter what the season, Harlequin Intrigue promises an action-packed thrill ride, with an equal focus on two characters in danger falling headlong into love. Passion in all its forms. I wanted to fulfill that promise by putting a twist on the traditional things that mean “Christmas” to me. First and foremost, that’s family. Children bring the magic to the holidays. They are the sparkle. They’re the tinsel on the tree, the happy note in the carols, the whipped cream on the hot chocolate. People say that scent is the sense linked most closely to memory, and that’s certainly true for me when it comes to the holidays. Whenever I smell bread or cookies baking in the oven, I’m immediately brought back to my childhood Christmases. Something about the toasty flour aroma mingling with the hint of caramelizing sugar makes me feel warm and…

I have to admit, I can’t believe 2010 is drawing to a close.  I’m absolutely astounded that we are in December and that Christmas is right around the corner!  But since we are in the last month of the year, I thought I’d take a look back at some of the new authors I’ve discovered this year and the books that I’ve loved. I know she’s been around for a few years, but I found Kristan Higgins this year and absolutely fell in love with her spunky, down-on-their-luck heroines.  Contemporaries are back in a big way and Kristin’s latest book, ALL I EVER WANTED, was absolutely awesome.  I’m most of the way through her backlist and loving that as well. Patricia Briggs’s Mercy series is another set of books that absolutely blew me away.  I’m a huge paranormal and urban fantasy lover anyway, and I picked up the first book on a whim.  I went back to BN the next day and bought the following four and am currently waiting, with bated breath, for book number six in the series. I also picked up Rachel Caine’s Morganville Vampire series on a random trip to the bookstore and really got sucked…

November 2010 On Sale: November 1, 2010 Featuring: Emma 656 pages ISBN: 1402240686 EAN: 9781402240683 Paperback $16.99 Add to Wish List Romance Historical Buy at Amazon.com The Forever Queen by Helen Hollick Sometimes, a desperate kingdom is in need of one great woman. Married to a king incompetent both on the throne and in bed, Emma does not love her husband. But she does love England. Even as her husband fails, Emma vows to protect her people-no matter what. For five decades, through love and loss, prosperity and exile, Emma fights for England, becoming the only woman to have been anointed, crowned, and reigning queen to two different kings, the mother of two more, and the great aunt of William the Conqueror. Excerpt November 1035> The Queen, Emma, knew from the grey pallor on Earl Godwine’s face, and by the way he stood, one step within the threshold, that something was wrong. Horribly wrong. “My Lord, you are wet through?” she said, a question in her voice, although the statement was obvious. A second question, of why he had come to Winchester, so unexpected in such torrential rain, hovered unspoken. Rising from her chair, set for comfort beside the hearth…

I’ve always loved history; there’s something very romantic in thinking about the past. Perhaps it’s because my mom would drag us to antique shops when we were children and I’d tiptoe around piles of ancient objects, feeling as if I was peeking into someone’s private life. Being that we lived in the Midwestern U.S., these antique shops would be full of Victorian Era leftovers, about the earliest date we have. It’s not only in antique shops where you can find Victorian fingerprints. Just about every Midwestern city has ornate Victorian homes in their downtown area. So you can definitely say I’ve been surrounded by the 1800s for most of my life. When I decided to become a writer, there were many time periods I could have picked. I loved the Medieval era for their Knights in Shining Armor. And of course there is the Colonial era here in America with its stark attractiveness; an era I feel is rather under-developed in the romance world. There is also the lovely delicateness of the Regency time period, one of the most popular of the romance genres. But for me, it has always been about the Victorian era. Some find the décor gaudy,…